Method for authenticating a textile product and a thread and a woven label usable therewith

ABSTRACT

A method for authenticating a textile product, wherein a colorless composition is applied to at least one portion of at least one thread of the textile product. The composition comprises one of a pair of a colorformer and an activator which react when mixed to produce a spectral response. The textile product is authenticated as genuine by applying the other of the pair of the colorformer and activator to at least one portion of the at least one thread to produce the spectral response. The textile product may be a thread or a woven label.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The manufacturers of high quality, high profile and hence highly pricedbrand name clothing or textile products are necessarily concerned by thepossibility that a counterfeiter can reproduce such products with goodor even moderate fidelity and to sell them on the market as genuine,thereby essentially stealing the brand name value from the legitimatemanufacturer that the manufacturer has succeeded, as a result oftremendous efforts and expenditures, to build into such products. Anequally important concern is, of course, the serious danger that a lowerquality counterfeited product might destroy the image and hence theconfidence in the genuine product that has also been created, of course,at great expense and effort by the original manufacturer.

Consequently, it has become vitally important to be able to positivelyidentify an original textile product against a counterfeit clone.

The present invention relates to a system and apparatus for theconvenient authentication of legitimate and authentic textile productsincluding clothing and the like. A number of features are considered tobe essential for an authentication device to be efficient andcommercially acceptable for such products. For instance, it is importantthat the method of identification be simple and, thus, not require inits utilization, highly technical skills and complex technical devices.This is because an inspector must be able to perform the verificationtask easily away from the manufacturing site, e.g., in the field, oftenin an adverse environment. Also, for an anti-counterfeit scheme to beeffective, each and every one of the authentic product items must carrythe identification device. In order to keep the cost of the protectivescheme at a reasonable level, it must be possible to attach theidentification device to each given product item easily during thenormal manufacturing process without disturbing the normal evolution ofthe latter, preferably without adding any new steps.

It is also important that the identification device be covert so thatthe counterfeiter will not to be able to locate it, identify it andhence duplicate it with more or less success, thereby creating confusionin the minds of the inspector, and even more importantly in the mind ofthe purchaser of the product. We will qualify hereafter such covertnessas "transparence", meaning that the presence of the device must notperturb or modify in any manner the visual aspect that the product has,before the introduction of the authenticating device. Moreover,considering the fact that certain textile products, such as jeans,trousers, skirts, and other similar clothing products are subjected to amore or less intentionally harsh washing process before they are put onthe shelf for selling, in such products, the authentication device mustbe ingeniously protected in order to survive the obviously abrasive andhence destructive effect of such washes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a dramatically effective solution thatfulfills all of the above-mentioned needs. Since every brand nameproduct carries at least one solidly attached woven label that fullyidentifies the product, we consider the introduction of theauthentication device in the woven label sufficient to protect theproduct as a whole. If need be, however, the authentication techniquedisclosed herein described for the protection of the label can just aswell be chosen to be used directly on the product in order toauthenticate and protect the textile material which is used to make theproduct.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention areachieved in accordance with the present invention as describedhereinafter with reference to the attached drawings and the detaileddescription of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thread or fiber according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a thread orfiber according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a microcapsule according to thepresent invention;

FIGS. 4-6 are top views of a woven label according to the presentinvention used in accordance with the method according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the method of FIGS. 4-6;

FIGS. 8-10 show another embodiment of the method according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 11 shows an alternative of the embodiment of the method of FIGS.8-10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present authentication technique makes use of two fundamentalcomponents that are identified as components A and B. Component A is acoating solution, which is essentially colorless, hence transparent,and, therefore, covert. A number of compositions can be used to make thecoating A, as further described hereinafter. This invention can beimplemented by using the coating of Component A to either coatselectively one or more of the yarns or fibers used in the normalweaving of a given brand name label, or by using the coating solution Aas a finishing coating solution, which can be used to entirely coat awoven label for ease of handling and other purposes or as well by addingthe coating solution of Component A to the otherwise used normalfinishing coating solution of a given label.

Component B is provided in the form of a second solution which, in oneconvenient configuration, is filled in a highlighter pen structure. WhenComponent B is applied on Component A, which is carried by the labelprepared according to the procedure described herein, a chemicalreaction takes place. Depending on the specific composition ofComponents A and B, the reaction will appear either in the form of theComponent A coated part of the label suddenly changing its color, orbecoming fluorescent with a characteristic tint that can be seenparticularly when the label is exposed further to an ultraviolet light.In the first case, a reactive color change is said to have taken place,and in the second case, we say that on demand fluorescence has beenswitched on. The latter clearly remains essentially imperceptible to theeye of the viewer, especially when the thread is originally of darkcolor, under normal lighting, but becomes vividly evident to the viewerwhen the ultraviolet source of illumination is provided.

The preferred method of protection is the treated yarn approachdescribed above. In this case, the identifying reaction of B on Aobviously takes place only on those areas of the woven material wherethe treated yarn is present. Thus, the identification reaction canfurther be made to result in a revealed message: a name, a number, alogo, etc. On the other hand, when the protection scheme is such thatthe entire label is coated with Component A, the application ofComponent B will result in a reaction on any part of the treated labeland will only provide positive confirmation of the presence of theauthentication coating.

It is clear that, in accordance with the present disclosure, animportant part of the invention is to formulate Component A in such amanner that besides having the proper chemical composition, it adheressolidly to the treated fiber. An even more stringent requirement existsin the case where the labels are expected to be subjected to more orless severe pre-sale washing treatments. In this case, Component A mustbe made such as to remain chemically and mechanically intact to achievethis result. We have found that the active ingredients of the ComponentA have to be isolated from the chemical and mechanical elements of thewashing treatment by means of an envelope efficiently protective againstsuch active ingredients. The envelope must be mechanically solid tosustain as much as possible the harsh effects of what is generally knownas stone washing and chemically impermeable in order to prevent thecontents of often aggressive washing additives, which vary immenselyfrom one wash case to another, from traversing the envelope barrier.

The Component A, when used without an envelope, can be in a water basesolution, as well as a solvent base solution. It must provide goodadhesion to the yarn and yet must leave the softness of the fiber oryarn and/or the label substantially unaffected. The components of Aconsist of binders, a water repellant, softeners, curing compounds and areactive component which can be one of the two types of a chemicallyreactive pair that we shall call "AA" or "AD". Typical examples of AAmay be from the very wide spectrum of so-called leucodye activators,such as modified Novalac resins, bisphenols and hydroxybenzoates, ofwhich a specific example is 4-hydroxy-4'-isopropoxy-diphenyl sulfone. Onthe other hand, typical examples of AD may be from the wide spectrum ofso-called leucodyes, such as Hilton Davis CK4 which is chemicallycharacterized as C₃₁ H₂₈ N₂ O₃,6'-(Dimethylamino)-3'methyl-2'-(phenylamino) spiro(isobenzofuran)-1(3H), 9'-(9H) or Hilton Davis CK14 which is chemicallycharacterized as C₄₄ H₅₆ N₂ O₂ 3- (4-Dimethylamino)phenyl-3-(di(4-octyl)phenylamino)1-(3H)-isobenzofuranone.

Examples of a water base solution A, based on reactive components AA orAD, are as follows:

(a) finely micronized AA or AD materials in simple suspension ormicroencapsulated, as described herein, and then put in suspension;

(b) surfactants;

(c) urethane and/or acrylate binders;

(d) pH buffer

(e) catalyst

(f) softener

(g) cross-linker

(h) defoamer

(i) rheology modifier

(j) water-repellents.

Examples of solvent-based solution A, based on reactive components AA orAD are as follows:

(a) either AA or AD active ingredients

(b) solvents, such as alcohol, a hydrocarbon or mineral oil;

(c) binders, such as urethane, polyketone resins or phenolic resins;

(d) softeners

(e) rheology modifiers

(f) water-repellents.

In order to provide a protective envelope to the reactive ingredients AAor AD of the solution of Component A, we insert either one of thesematerials, identified as AA and AD above, into microcapsules, using thewidely-known methods of the microencapsulation technology. Theencapsulation of reactive components is well-known in the carbonlesspaper technology, encapsulation is also used typically in the making ofperfume samples often used in magazines. We find that the encapsulationprocess is the most convenient and effective means to achieve theprotective envelope function, as described above. The spherical walls ofthe microcapsule are a few microns in diameter, typically less than 10μand preferably 2-7μ, and provide an enormous mechanical resistance torupture when hit with "blunt" objects, which is how the stone washingprocess can be characterized, in view of the size of the metallic orother objects used in the processes relative to the micron size of thecapsule spheres. Furthermore, a judicious choice in the material of thewalls from many chemically impermeable components that typically arefrom the family of polyvinyl alcohols, polyamides, polyurethanes,polysulphonamides, polyesters and polysulphonates, assures a very highlevel of protection against chemical penetration inside the capsulesand, therefore, of protection against neutralizing the reactivechemicals AA or AD during a harsh textile washing process.

The thread or label coating solution of Component A is then obtained bysimply substituting, in the above-described formulation of the coatingsolution of Component A, the reactive components AA or AD in theirencapsulated form. Furthermore, note that in this case, only water-basedsolutions are used to prevent damaging the capsule walls in a solventenvironment.

We have found that when very high levels of protection are required boththe mechanical and chemical protections offered by themicroencapsulation techniques are dramatically multiplied in efficiencywhen the microcapsules are re-encapsulated, thus providing a double wallprotection, or even if need be further re-encapsulated, thus providing atriple wall protection.

As a general observation concerning the protection of the coating A witha chemically and mechanically resistant envelope, another approach is totop coat a fiber or label that is precoated with one of the solutionsdescribed above with an additional, separate protective top coat whichis typically made of a curing composition.

In this case, however, generally a substantial change in the softness ofthe original yarn or label is to be expected, rendering the latterstiff. Since, in many situations, this stiffening is found to beobjectionable by the garment manufacturer, the microencapsulationapproach for the protective envelope is the preferred method ofimplementation of this concept.

The solution of Component B is in the form of a solution of the one ofthe reactive components identified above, either AA or AD, in a solvent,such as alcohol, acetone, methylethyl ketone and others, or acombination of such solvents.

When the solution of Component A is based on the reactive components AA,the solution of Component B is made using components from AD. When, onthe other hand, the solution of Component A is based on AD, thensolution of Component B is made using components from the AA family.

EXAMPLES

Waterbased Coating-formula, A

    ______________________________________                                                           Wet wt                                                     ______________________________________                                        Water                55.0%                                                    Wetting agent        1.0                                                      Anti-migrant         2.0                                                      Binder AB (30%)      15.0                                                     Fix-1A Cross linker  1.5                                                      Active component, AA or AD (35%)                                                                   20.0                                                     Softener/Water repellent                                                                           5.0                                                      Defoamer             0.5                                                                           100.00                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Solventbased Coating-formula, A

    ______________________________________                                        Mineral Spirit          87-75%                                                Active component (AA or AD)                                                                         5-10                                                    Binder                5-10                                                    Corning C-2-0563 (Water repellant)                                                                 3-5                                                                           100.00                                                   ______________________________________                                    

FIG. 1 shows a fiber 10 according to the present invention having thecoating 11 of solution A thereon. Since the coating 11 is colorless, onecannot tell from fiber 10 with an unaided eye that there is anydifference between fiber 10 with the coating and fiber 10 without thecoating.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a fiber 10' according to the presentinvention having microcapsules 12 adhered thereto. Each microcapsuleincludes a colorless solution of Component A in a central portion 13 andtransparent walls 14. The figure is not to scale for the sake ofclarity.

In this embodiment, it would not be possible to determine, with anunaided eye, the difference between fiber 10' with the microcapsulesconnected thereto and a fiber with no such coating.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention whereineach microcapsule 12' has a second wall 15 formed thereon for addedprotection. A third, and even more walls, can also be applied ifnecessary.

In accordance with the method of the present invention, a wovensubstrate 20 shown in FIG. 4 has horizontal and vertical woven fibers21. In the embodiment shown therein, each of the fibers 21 is completelycoated with a solution of Component A. The coating is carried out eitherbefore the fibers are woven or thereafter. The fibers are coated withComponent A in the manner of FIGS. 1-3 or other combinations thereofwhich would be clear to one of ordinary skill in the art.

It should be noted that the woven substrate 20 can be a label attachedto a garment or the like or it can be part of the textile productitself.

As shown in FIG. 5, the Component B is applied in area 22 by means of anapplicator, such as a highlighter pen having the Component B insolution.

Where the Component A is contained in microcapsules as shown in FIG. 2,the Component B is carried in a solvent which dissolves themicrocapsules to effect a mixing of Component A and B.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the mixing of Components A and Bproduces a visible spectral response 23 in the portion of the substrateto which the activator 22 has been applied.

In FIG. 7, the substrate 20' has Component A, which when mixed withComponent B, produces a fluorescent spectral response, which is notvisible in normal light, especially when the untreated thread is of adark color, but which is only visible as shown by spectral response 24when viewed under ultraviolet light from source 25.

Rather than covering an entire area of the substrate with the ComponentA, another use of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 8-11,incorporates the selective coating of fibers in a woven substrate, suchas a label or a woven garment or other product itself, to hide a latentimage of a message, such as a name, a logo or a number.

As shown in FIG. 8, depending on the specific weaving method used,vertical and horizontal fibers 31, 32 are selectively coated in areas,such as 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B, to produce a latent image of a name whichis not visible to an unaided eye, and because it is only exposed in asmall portion of the overall area of the substrate, would be difficultto find unless one knows where to look for it.

As shown in FIG. 9, in order to determine the genuineness of thearticle, Component B is applied in area 34 of substrate 30.

The result is shown in FIG. 10 where a spectral response is achieved dueto the mixing of Components A and B in, for example, the coated portions31A and 32A. Thus, one can see "NOCO" on the substrate. In areas 31B and32B where the activator has not been applied, the image "PI" is stilllatent.

In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the activation ofsubstrate 30' only results in a spectral response in, for example,coated portions 31A' and 32A' which is not visible in normal light and"NOCO" is only visible when viewed in ultraviolet light from ultravioletlight source 35, whereas "PI" would not be visible even under UV light.

It is noted that in the above-described embodiments, the authenticationscheme is based on keeping the two active components A and B physicallyseparated up to the point where the authentication process is to takeplace, at which point a solvent intervenes in order to allow A and B tomix and react with each other.

A further alternative to the above embodiments has been worked out wherethe two components A and B are initially put in intimate physicalproximity but they are prevented from reacting chemically. This isachieved by utilizing a thread or label coating solution which isidentical to the water-based solution given in the above first examplebut where the active component described in (a) is a mixture of both AAand AD materials micronized to a size of the order of microns where therange of micronization can be from submicrons to about 15μ but morecommonly from about 1μ to about 10μ. The proportion of AA to ADmicronized solids is of the order of 4 to 1. This proportion is,however, not critical. Since the micronized particles AA and AD areplaced in an aqueous medium and they are both chosen to be insoluble inwater, they will not chemically react with each other. After the threador the woven label that is desired to be authenticated is coated withthis aqueous solution, the activation process requires simply a briskscratching action on the coated portion of the label, the heat andpressure associated with this scratching action will merge the AA and ADcomponents into each other and the chemical reaction takes place, thusproducing a perceptible color change or rendering the scratched areasfluorescent, depending on the specific components used as AD micronizedmaterial. This type of embodiment is otherwise described as the "rub andreveal" or "scratch and reveal" process of authentication. It is bestsuited for applications that do not involve a presale washing process.

Another alternative embodiment for the scratch and reveal version of theprotection technology is when of the two active components AA and ADused the in water-based coating solution, one is micronized as describedabove and the other is used in a microencapsulated solubilized formsimilar to the description given in FIG. 3. In this case, clearly themicroencapsulated active micronized and originally unsolubilizedcomponent will be in intimate proximity with the micronized conjugateactive component, however, the microcapsule walls will prevent anychemical reaction from taking place. Upon briskly scratching the treatedsurface, however, the microcapsule walls will break and the one activecomponent in solution will meet and react with the other activecomponent, thereby providing the authentication signal of color changeor switched on fluorescence.

Clearly in this rub and reveal or scratch and reveal embodiment, theauthentication process is simple in that it does not require any specialhighlighter. All that is needed is the fingernail or any other sharpobject made preferably of a non-thermally conducting material.

It is understood that the embodiments described hereinabove are merelyillustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.It is realized that various changes, alterations, rearrangements andmodifications can be made by those skilled in the art especially in theart of weaving without substantially departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for authenticating a textile product,comprising the steps of:applying a colorless composition to at least oneportion of at least one thread constituting a textile product, whereinthe composition comprises at least one of a pair of a colorformer and anactivator which react when mixed to produce a spectral response; andauthenticating the textile product as genuine by mixing the other of thepair of the colorformer and activator at said at least one portion ofthe at least one thread in the presence of a solvent to produce thespectral response.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecolorless composition is applied to the at least one thread before thetextile product is made.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecolorless composition is applied to the at least one thread after thetextile product is made.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecolorless composition is applied in solution to coat the at least onethread.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of applyingcomprises microencapsulating the colorless composition in microcapsulesand adhering the microcapsules to the at least one thread.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein only one of the pair is applied in thecolorless composition and the other of the pair is mixed by applyingsame in a solvent carrier to dissolve the microcapsules.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the spectral response is visible to anunaided eye.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spectralresponse is visible only under ultraviolet light.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the textile product is a woven label. 10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the label is completely coatedwith the colorless composition.
 11. The method according to claim 9,wherein the label is coated on predetermined portions of predeterminedthreads to define a predetermined latent image.
 12. The method accordingto claim 11, wherein the latent image is a message.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the latent image is a logo.
 14. Themethod according to claim 11, wherein the latent image is a number. 15.The method according to claim 1, wherein only one of the pair is appliedin the colorless composition and the other of the pair is mixed byapplying same using a highlighter.
 16. The method according to claim 1,wherein both of the pair are in intimate physical proximity in thecolorless composition and prevented from reacting and wherein mixingcomprises applying at least one of heat and pressure to the compositionto effect a reaction.